Archives are generally grouped by month of Main Page appearance. (Currently, DYK hooks are archived according to the date and time that they were taken off the Main Page.) To find which archive contains the fact that appeared on Did you know, go to article's
talk page and follow the archive link in the DYK talk page message box.
... that Itek Corporation was formed to build image retrieval systems, but instead became a reconnaissance camera vendor after winning the contract for the CIA's
CORONA satellite?
... that although composed in late 1812, the popular Canadian
War of 1812 song The Bold Canadian was not published until 1907, and not fully until 1927?
... that
Sega changed a dainty, big-eyed female character into a
Vallejo-like golden
bikini-clad female barbarian, to market the video game Alisia Dragoon to the
Western market?
02:56, 30 January 2009 (UTC)
... that wolf lichen,
fungal species Letharia vulpina(pictured), was used historically as a wolf poison by combining it with powdered glass and meat?
... that designer Shigeo Fukuda's poster "Victory 1945" of a projectile heading straight at the opening of a cannon barrel was described as a "bitingly satirical commentary on the senselessness of war"?
... that in May 1776, the future
Chaldean Patriarch Yohannan Hormizd was consecrated
metropolitan bishop with right of succession at the age of 16 by his uncle, Patriarch Mar Eliya XII Denkha?
... that Barashnûm is a
Zoroastrianpurificationritual in which a "defiled" person is confined to a corner of the house called Armêsht-gah for a period of nine nights?
09:24, 29 January 2009 (UTC)
... that the Light-mantled Albatross(pictured) does not start breeding, on average, until 12 years old?
... that Al-Maquar, which contains the royal residence of
Jordan, was built on the camp-site for the armies of the
Arab Revolt, who captured
Amman in 1918?
... that because of differences in the demands for a separate nation called
Dravida Nadu,
India's
DMK party split in 1962 and a short-lived Tamil National Party was formed?
... that tab shows—cut-down versions of
Broadway and other
musicals, with portable scenery—often shared the bill with early 20th-century
vaudeville and
burlesque shows in the USA?
... that a Liveline phone-in debate on
gay adoption staged by Evelyn O'Rourke led to more than half of the total complaints issued against the radio show in a six-month period?
... that the
Trondheim Tramway of
Norway could not sell their used Class 8 trams (pictured) because they had the unique combination of 260 cm (100 in) width and
meter gauge?
... that Bob May got the role of the Robot in the 1960s TV series Lost in Space when he met the show's creator
Irwin Allen in the studio lot who said "if you can fit in the suit, you've got the job"?
... that the biennial world
chef championship Bocuse d'Or, named for
Paul Bocuse(pictured), is one of the world's most prestigious cooking competitions?
... that development of the Namsos Line was halted both in 1908, when final plans for the
Nordland Line used another route via
Snåsa, and in 1927, when the Norwegian
Minister of Labour stopped construction?
... that Leonard Andrews created The New York Standard, the largest alternative paper printed during the 114-day 1962 New York City newspaper strike, with a peak circulation over 400,000 in its 67 issues?
... that Mike Murphy(pictured) trained heavyweight boxing champion
John L. Sullivan, was the first
Michigan Wolverines football coach, and has been called the "the father of American track athletics"?
... that George Webb Restaurants locations each have two clocks that employees claim are set one minute apart to evade a local law banning businesses from being open 24 hours per day?
... that Steve Farrell, called "the greatest professional foot-racer" in America, raced against horses for several years in the 1890s and reportedly only lost a half dozen times?
16:50, 26 January 2009 (UTC)
... that the first egg laid in a
clutch by Crested penguins(pictured) of the
genusEudyptes is as little as 60% of the size of the second egg?
... that in June 1991, a gasoline tanker attempting to exit from Interstate 68 at
Cumberland, Maryland, overturned and set eight houses on fire, causing US$250,000 in damages?
... that composer Egidio Duni was particularly influential in creating a new genre of
opera which blended
Italian opera elements with traditional
French ones?
... that despite its name, the Corsican Hare is not native to
Corsica and is rarely found on this Mediterranean island today?
17:30, 25 January 2009 (UTC)
... that Tricholoma ustaloides(pictured), generally considered an inedible species of
mushroom, is consumed by inhabitants of some
Mexican communities?
... that the Pysähdy ajoissa - Stanna i tid ("Stop in time") traffic campaign was the result of the public response to a road death of a nine-year-old girl in
Finland?
... that at different times Phnom Voar (Vine Mountain) in southern
Cambodia was a
B-52 target, a rebel base, a
killing field, a kidnapping site, and finally a peaceful mountain?
... that
Rose Byrne said that filming the opening scene of Damages episode "Get Me a Lawyer" on a winter's morning in only underwear and a coat was "very traumatic"?
... that the Port of Piraeus is the largest
passenger port in
Europe and one of the largest in the world with total traffic of 21,522,917 people in 2007?
... that amateur photographer George Caddy's 70-year-old lost negatives that surfaced in 2007 are the only documents of an historic
Bondi beach acrobatic troupe?
... that, in his 2000 book The Ingenuity Gap,
Thomas Homer-Dixon argues the nature of problems faced by our society are becoming more complex and that our ability to implement solutions is not keeping pace?
... that in July 1905, during the Theriso revolt, three insurgent leaders met the consuls of the European Great Powers at a
monastery surrounded by rebels, and that
martial law was declared after the talks failed?
... that
OklahomahistorianAngie Debo won numerous honors for her books on
Native American history, but never found a permanent position in an academic history department?
... that according to legend, Anandibai led to the assassination of the 13-year-old king
Narayanrao Peshwa by changing one letter dha to ma, thus changing the order "capture him" to "kill him"?
... that the NSB Class 66 was the first
Norwegian train capable of 120 km/h (75 mph)?
... that when an upgraded part of the Østfold Line(pictured) opened in 1996, it was the first railway in Norway built for speeds of 200 km/h (120 mph)?
... that, according to theories by Dennis MacDonald, the earliest books of the
New Testament are responses to the
HomericEpics, thus "nearly everything written on early Christian narrative is flawed"?
... that a pipeline exploded in
Nigeria on October 18, 1998, killing a total of 1,082 people and injuring hundreds more?
... that the 1904 Advance 2 3/4hp motorcycle displayed at the
National Motorcycle Museum (UK) is thought to be the only complete Advance motorcycle in existence?
... that the 450 aircraft that conducted the opening aerial bombardment during the Battle of Aachen failed to hit a single
Germanpillbox?
22 January 2009
19:30, 22 January 2009 (UTC)
... that the Los Carneros AVA(pictured), located in both
Napa and
Sonoma counties, was the first
wine region in
California to be defined by its climate characteristics instead of political boundaries?
... that Kanthirava Narasaraja I was the first ruler in the
Kingdom of Mysore to create symbols associated with Mysore royalty, such as the coins (Kanthiraya) that he named after himself?
... that there are 115,200 solutions to the ménage problem of
permuting six couples at a twelve-person table so that men and women alternate and are seated away from their partners?
... that Charles Morgan, Jr. resigned from his
ACLU position after the group's head criticized Morgan for calling a
New Yorker a bigot for his refusal to consider voting for
Jimmy Carter as President?
... that following
TV3's axing of Night Shift the presenter, model Michelle Doherty, was said to have been left feeling "completely bewildered, and absolutely gutted"?
... that the Lipari Landfill in
New Jersey, where nearly 3 million gallons and 12 thousand tons of hazardous waste were dumped, was called the worst toxic dump in the United States?
... that out of 281
T-26tanks supplied to the
Popular Front(example pictured), the
Nationalists were able to capture 178 during the war, putting at least 50 into service against their former users?
... that Nigel Hamilton's biography of the young
John F. Kennedy, JFK: Reckless Youth, was turned into a television miniseries of the same name starring
Patrick Dempsey as JFK?
... that the Chennai Book Fair is an annual event in
Chennai,
India, which takes place between the last week of December and the third week of January?
... that
professional wrestlerSusan Green legally changed her name to Susan Tex Green to differentiate herself from another woman named Susan Green who was writing bad
checks?
... that B.Day, Bakery Music's tenth-anniversary and parting concert, was performed at
Rajamangala Stadium to an audience of 50,000 and was the largest concert ever held in
Thailand at the time?
... that Harry Endo had been filmed in a commercial for the bank in
Hawaii where he worked when he was asked to play the role of "Che Fong", an original cast member of the television series Hawaii Five-O?
... that Evelyn Lauder, who co-created and popularized the
pink ribbon as a symbol for
breast cancer awareness, helped create
Estée Lauder's Pink Ribbon lipstick and blusher as a breast cancer fundraiser?
... that from 1904 to 1927, passengers travelling by rail from
Stavanger to
Oslo,
Norway, needed to change to steam ship at Flekkefjord Station(pictured)?
... that the filming of Dexter was forced to move from
Miami to
Los Angeles, beginning with the episode "It's Alive!", because of the overlap between the show's production window and Miami's hurricane season?
... that a November 2008 appearance by a dance troupe called Satanic Sluts, featuring the granddaughter of actor
Andrew Sachs, on The Late Late Show led to a significant number of complaints?
... that Sir Norman Denning anticipated an
attack on Singapore by the Japanese as early as the mid-1930s, but his report was dismissed as him "over-exercising his imagination"?
06:50, 19 January 2009 (UTC)
... that the "monstrous" five-masted steel barque Potosi(pictured) was named after the
highest city in the world?
... that in 1966, Donald Gleason developed the
Gleason score, still used as the standard to measure the aggressiveness of
prostate cancer despite millions spent in attempts to displace it?
... that the
East African plant Commelina lukei has been informally recognised as a separate species since 1969, but was only formally described in 2008?
... that
Michigan's first athletic director Charles Baird(pictured) built the largest college athletic ground in the United States and negotiated the school's appearance in the first
Rose Bowl game?
... that on 22 October 2008, 15,000 members of the "grey army" descended on
Ireland's government buildings to protest the proposed abolition of their previously guaranteed free health treatment?
... that immature specimens of the lantern stinkhornfungus(pictured), with an odor of dog feces, sewage, or rotting flesh when mature, are considered an edible and medicinal delicacy in
China?
... that the 1871 election of Father Eduard Müller to the new
Reichstag was considered "an astonishing victory of a nobody" over an aristocratic landowner?
... that "I'll be a bridge over deep water if you trust in my name", from Claude Jeter's 1961 song "Mary Don't You Weep", was the inspiration for
Paul Simon's 1970 song "
Bridge over Troubled Water"?
... that Sin Chang-won, a
South Korean fugitive criminal famous for his close escapes, was first arrested at the age of 15 after being turned in by his father for stealing a
watermelon?
... that
Okinawan folk singer Rinshō Kadekaru was gravely wounded during
World War II, and reported dead, only to survive and enjoy a lengthy career, living until 1999?
... that, due to a government-imposed
curfew,
professional wrestlerMario Milano had to wrestle under a mask at the beginning of his career because he was underage and not allowed out after 9 o'clock?
... that the
NAACP forced the cancellation of some
wrestling events in
Mississippi to protest a tar-and-feather match featuring Melvin Nelson wrestling as "Burrhead Jones"?
... that the 2005 Operation Iron Hammer, aimed to clear
Al-Qaeda in Iraq from the Hai Al Becker region in western
Iraq, resulted in no reported casualties and no use of deadly force?
... that twin brothers Robert and Ross Hume became known as the "Dead Heat Kids" after finishing nine straight mile races, including the
Big Ten and
NCAA championships, holding hands in dead heat victories?
... that Scottish
footballerJim Baxter once taunted opponents in an international match by playing
keepie uppie during the game, and that he described his style as "treating the ball like a woman"?
... that the
Brazilian team at the
1958 World Cup had not assigned squad numbers in advance, and a 17-year old
Pelé was randomly assigned the number 10, which he wore for the rest of his career?
... that Benoît Sinzogan, described as "too timid to mount a coup" during the 1960s and 1970s, was "one of
Dahomey's few senior officers not to attempt to"?
... that the
hip hop magazine Rap-Up was founded by Devin Lazerine as a website when he was 15 years old?
... that having witnessed the effects of a market attack in the
2008–2009 Israel–Gaza conflict during a ban of international press, Norwegian doctor Mads Gilbert started a global
SMS campaign?
... that
Tang Dynasty official Pei Yanling was "so careless in his frivolousness and falsehood, as well as his jealousy of the talented and harmfulness to the good" that two centuries later it made historian Liu Xu weep?
... that the putrid stench of the "latticed stinkhorn"
fungusClathrus ruber(pictured) attracts insects to help disperse its
spores?
... that as early as 1968,
criminologistLloyd Ohlin noted that the routine incarceration of youthful offenders does "more to develop than to stop career criminals"?
... that music critic Herman Klein wrote in
New York City from 1901 to 1909 and advised
Columbia Records, but he acquired an unfavorable view of American musical life and returned to Britain?
... that the Lublin 1980 strikes marked the beginning of important socio-political changes in
Poland, such as the creation of
Solidarity and democratization of the country?
... that Gigantic, a film about a single man deciding to adopt a baby, was inspired by
writer–
director Matt Aselton's childhood wish for his parents to adopt a baby from
China?
... that Nick Scandone was named 2005 Rolex Yachtsman of the Year, the first
Paralympian to earn the honor, after winning the
2.4 meter world championship against 60 able-bodied and 27 disabled sailors?
... that sugar cream pie is being considered to become the official state pie of
Indiana, USA?
... that Paschal Eze resigned as editor-in-chief of The Daily Observer, a newspaper in
The Gambia, after being pressured by management not to publish stories about a certain politician?
... that the Bat Motor Manufacturing Co. Ltd was named after founder Samuel Robert Batson but was nicknamed "Best After Tests"?
... that William Murphy won two
Big Ten doubles tennis championships with his twin brother, and later coached
Michigan tennis teams to 11 Big Ten and one
NCAA team championships?
... that the "floating palaces" Bristol and Providence, built in 1867 by William H. Webb(pictured), contained 500 canaries in cages, each one personally named by shipowner
Jim Fisk?
... that while the Brooklyn Theatre burned in 1876, the actors urged calm in the face of rising panic, and though nearest to the flames, they were among the last to leave the theater alive?
... that Alexandra Penney, author of the best-selling book How to Make Love to a Man, has been credited as one of the creators and popularizers of the
pink ribbon(pictured) as a symbol for
breast cancer awareness?
... that Dave Porter won the
NCAA heavyweight collegiate wrestling championship twice and was subsequently drafted by the
Cleveland Browns to play in the
NFL?
... that the 17th-century
antiquarianJohan Hadorph performed Sweden's first archaeological excavation?
... that after becoming the first
basketball player to lead the
Big Ten in both scoring and rebounds,
Michigan's M.C. Burton turned down a contract to play in the
NBA to attend medical school?
... that
Morrissey was billed as the headliner of Saturday Night Fiber 2008, even though he was not the final act to play?
... that The Pittsburgh Courier crusaded against the blue discharge, calling it "a vicious instrument that should not be perpetrated against the American Soldier"?
... that when it was first described in the late 1600s, the
earthstarfungusGeastrum fornicatum(pictured) was named Fungus anthropomorphus for its resemblance to the human form?
... that the Hershey Creamery Company, founded in 1894 by five brothers from the Hershey family, has actually been owned and operated by the Holder family since the 1920s?
... that the Kappe Residence, described as "a virtual tree house poised over a steep hillside", was named one of the top ten houses in
Los Angeles by an expert panel selected by the Los Angeles Times?
... that during his
Victoria Cross-winning action, Percy Statton rushed four
machine gun posts before returning to his battalion lines where he was cheered by his fellow Australians?
... that the Sierra Highway was described in a promotional book to recruit teachers to
California as "a highway with a hundred by-ways, each by-way with a hundred wonders"?
... that
Nubian queen Amanitore(
relief pictured) ruled over so much building work that her reign is considered the most prosperous time in
Meroitic history?
... that
first-classcricketerBryan Lobb was such a poor judge of a run that he was once
run out by a fielder who overtook him as he strolled down the wicket?
... that the 1916 Early Modern Dodge House in
West Hollywood, California, called one of the fifteen most significant houses in the United States, was demolished in 1970 to make way for apartments?
... that
Tang Dynasty official Gao Ying, in his youth, offered to die in his father's stead when his father was captured by
rebelYan forces, causing Yan officers to release them both?
... that the FN-6, a third generation
ChineseMANPAD, was specifically designed to be used against targets flying at low and very low
altitudes?
... that
Paul Robeson's contract for the 1925
race filmBody and Soul included a US$100 per week salary plus three percent of the gross after the first US$40,000 in receipts?
... that the crime television series Heist detailed the 1974
Irish Republican Army's seizure of nineteen well-known paintings estimated to be worth £8 million at
Russborough House?
... that the last Silkmotorcycle ever built was a 500cc model based on a prototype that was never produced and was used as a competition prize?
... that Juan Davis Bradburn, commander of the
Mexican fort at
Anahuac, was described as "incompetent to such a command and ... half crazy part of his time"?
6 January 2009
23:50, 6 January 2009 (UTC)
... that in 1846, the
Austrian Empire encouraged a peasant revolt(pictured) to weaken local nobility in
Galicia who were planning a rebellion of their own?
... that Hal Fryar received a number of complaints from
English teachers because he appeared in a film with the grammatically incorrect title The Outlaws Is Coming?
... that abolitionist Charles Bennett Ray was the first black student enrolled at
Wesleyan University in 1832, only to have his enrollment subsequently revoked after complaints from white students?
... that the American M47 bomb had a steel cover just 1/32 of an inch thick, causing it to leak when it carried
sulfur mustard?
... that 12-year-old actress Caitlin Sanchez, selected to perform the voice of the title character in
Nickelodeon's Dora the Explorer, grew up as a fan of the show with a Dora-themed bedroom and backpack?
... that the characteristics of iminoglycinuria include the presence of
glycine and
imino acids in the urine, and aside from that it is considered to be a relatively
benign disorder?
... that the White-faced Heron's (pictured) techniques to find food include standing still and waiting for prey, walking slowly in water, wing flicking, foot raking or chasing prey with open wings?
... that the original screenplay for A Life of Her Own was deemed "shocking and highly offensive" for its portrayal of "adultery and commercialized prostitution" and rejected by the
Breen Office?
... that in the Battle of Sio,
Papuan Corporal Bengari and his five companions ambushed 29
Japanese soldiers and killed them all before they could fire a shot?
... that players in the video game I Love Katamari control a highly adhesive ball which is used to run over and collect objects of increasing size to make the ball bigger?
... that Alvah Chapman, Jr. helped orchestrate the 1974 merger of Knight Newspapers and Ridder Publications to form
Knight Ridder, the largest such transaction as of that time?
... that the Virginia Board of Censors found the 1927
race filmThe House Behind the Cedars "so objectionable, in fact, as to necessitate its total rejection"?
... that "The Flying Parson" Gil Dodds, record holder in the mile run in the 1940s, suffered a
hernia in high school and ran with a
truss to protect himself?
... that, while serving as
chancellor,
Tang Dynasty official Cui Sun was responsible for rebuilding or repairing the funereal palaces at eight imperial tombs, one of which was
Qianling(pictured)?
... that Time magazine predicted "Big Bill" Watson, the first African-American to win the U.S. decathlon championship, would be America's No. 1 hero at the
1940 Olympics, later cancelled due to
World War II?
... that, after returning to his native
England,
New YorkcomposerManuel Klein suffered a trauma during the
Zeppelin attacks in London during
WWI that reportedly contributed to his early death?
... that the al-Muallaq Mosque, also known as the Mosque of Dhaher al-Omar in
Acre,
Israel, is located on the site of the town's ancient
synagogue?
... that the
Tang Dynasty official Zheng Yuqing restored the use of drums in palace music, after drums had been abolished in light of rebellions to avoid alarming the populace?
... that the stems of Asclepias cordifolia(pictured), or Heart-leaf
milkweed, were made into rope and string by the
Miwok and used for skirts and capes?
... that
kibbutzRe'im has started a project to become the first community in
Israel with its domestic power consumption provided entirely by
solar energy?
... that
Dave Fanning described 2TV as "not rocket science, it's moron television"?
... that the
monastery of Champmol was founded in 1383 as the dynastic burial-place of the
ValoisDukes of Burgundy, but only ever contained two monumental tombs?
... that
Peter Benchley wanted to write about pirates, but editor Thomas Congdon preferred his idea for a
novel about sharks that became the bestseller Jaws?
... that Iolani Luahine, considered the high priestess of the ancient
hula, was said to be able to "call up the wind and the rain" and to "make animals do her bidding"?
Archives are generally grouped by month of Main Page appearance. (Currently, DYK hooks are archived according to the date and time that they were taken off the Main Page.) To find which archive contains the fact that appeared on Did you know, go to article's
talk page and follow the archive link in the DYK talk page message box.
... that Itek Corporation was formed to build image retrieval systems, but instead became a reconnaissance camera vendor after winning the contract for the CIA's
CORONA satellite?
... that although composed in late 1812, the popular Canadian
War of 1812 song The Bold Canadian was not published until 1907, and not fully until 1927?
... that
Sega changed a dainty, big-eyed female character into a
Vallejo-like golden
bikini-clad female barbarian, to market the video game Alisia Dragoon to the
Western market?
02:56, 30 January 2009 (UTC)
... that wolf lichen,
fungal species Letharia vulpina(pictured), was used historically as a wolf poison by combining it with powdered glass and meat?
... that designer Shigeo Fukuda's poster "Victory 1945" of a projectile heading straight at the opening of a cannon barrel was described as a "bitingly satirical commentary on the senselessness of war"?
... that in May 1776, the future
Chaldean Patriarch Yohannan Hormizd was consecrated
metropolitan bishop with right of succession at the age of 16 by his uncle, Patriarch Mar Eliya XII Denkha?
... that Barashnûm is a
Zoroastrianpurificationritual in which a "defiled" person is confined to a corner of the house called Armêsht-gah for a period of nine nights?
09:24, 29 January 2009 (UTC)
... that the Light-mantled Albatross(pictured) does not start breeding, on average, until 12 years old?
... that Al-Maquar, which contains the royal residence of
Jordan, was built on the camp-site for the armies of the
Arab Revolt, who captured
Amman in 1918?
... that because of differences in the demands for a separate nation called
Dravida Nadu,
India's
DMK party split in 1962 and a short-lived Tamil National Party was formed?
... that tab shows—cut-down versions of
Broadway and other
musicals, with portable scenery—often shared the bill with early 20th-century
vaudeville and
burlesque shows in the USA?
... that a Liveline phone-in debate on
gay adoption staged by Evelyn O'Rourke led to more than half of the total complaints issued against the radio show in a six-month period?
... that the
Trondheim Tramway of
Norway could not sell their used Class 8 trams (pictured) because they had the unique combination of 260 cm (100 in) width and
meter gauge?
... that Bob May got the role of the Robot in the 1960s TV series Lost in Space when he met the show's creator
Irwin Allen in the studio lot who said "if you can fit in the suit, you've got the job"?
... that the biennial world
chef championship Bocuse d'Or, named for
Paul Bocuse(pictured), is one of the world's most prestigious cooking competitions?
... that development of the Namsos Line was halted both in 1908, when final plans for the
Nordland Line used another route via
Snåsa, and in 1927, when the Norwegian
Minister of Labour stopped construction?
... that Leonard Andrews created The New York Standard, the largest alternative paper printed during the 114-day 1962 New York City newspaper strike, with a peak circulation over 400,000 in its 67 issues?
... that Mike Murphy(pictured) trained heavyweight boxing champion
John L. Sullivan, was the first
Michigan Wolverines football coach, and has been called the "the father of American track athletics"?
... that George Webb Restaurants locations each have two clocks that employees claim are set one minute apart to evade a local law banning businesses from being open 24 hours per day?
... that Steve Farrell, called "the greatest professional foot-racer" in America, raced against horses for several years in the 1890s and reportedly only lost a half dozen times?
16:50, 26 January 2009 (UTC)
... that the first egg laid in a
clutch by Crested penguins(pictured) of the
genusEudyptes is as little as 60% of the size of the second egg?
... that in June 1991, a gasoline tanker attempting to exit from Interstate 68 at
Cumberland, Maryland, overturned and set eight houses on fire, causing US$250,000 in damages?
... that composer Egidio Duni was particularly influential in creating a new genre of
opera which blended
Italian opera elements with traditional
French ones?
... that despite its name, the Corsican Hare is not native to
Corsica and is rarely found on this Mediterranean island today?
17:30, 25 January 2009 (UTC)
... that Tricholoma ustaloides(pictured), generally considered an inedible species of
mushroom, is consumed by inhabitants of some
Mexican communities?
... that the Pysähdy ajoissa - Stanna i tid ("Stop in time") traffic campaign was the result of the public response to a road death of a nine-year-old girl in
Finland?
... that at different times Phnom Voar (Vine Mountain) in southern
Cambodia was a
B-52 target, a rebel base, a
killing field, a kidnapping site, and finally a peaceful mountain?
... that
Rose Byrne said that filming the opening scene of Damages episode "Get Me a Lawyer" on a winter's morning in only underwear and a coat was "very traumatic"?
... that the Port of Piraeus is the largest
passenger port in
Europe and one of the largest in the world with total traffic of 21,522,917 people in 2007?
... that amateur photographer George Caddy's 70-year-old lost negatives that surfaced in 2007 are the only documents of an historic
Bondi beach acrobatic troupe?
... that, in his 2000 book The Ingenuity Gap,
Thomas Homer-Dixon argues the nature of problems faced by our society are becoming more complex and that our ability to implement solutions is not keeping pace?
... that in July 1905, during the Theriso revolt, three insurgent leaders met the consuls of the European Great Powers at a
monastery surrounded by rebels, and that
martial law was declared after the talks failed?
... that
OklahomahistorianAngie Debo won numerous honors for her books on
Native American history, but never found a permanent position in an academic history department?
... that according to legend, Anandibai led to the assassination of the 13-year-old king
Narayanrao Peshwa by changing one letter dha to ma, thus changing the order "capture him" to "kill him"?
... that the NSB Class 66 was the first
Norwegian train capable of 120 km/h (75 mph)?
... that when an upgraded part of the Østfold Line(pictured) opened in 1996, it was the first railway in Norway built for speeds of 200 km/h (120 mph)?
... that, according to theories by Dennis MacDonald, the earliest books of the
New Testament are responses to the
HomericEpics, thus "nearly everything written on early Christian narrative is flawed"?
... that a pipeline exploded in
Nigeria on October 18, 1998, killing a total of 1,082 people and injuring hundreds more?
... that the 1904 Advance 2 3/4hp motorcycle displayed at the
National Motorcycle Museum (UK) is thought to be the only complete Advance motorcycle in existence?
... that the 450 aircraft that conducted the opening aerial bombardment during the Battle of Aachen failed to hit a single
Germanpillbox?
22 January 2009
19:30, 22 January 2009 (UTC)
... that the Los Carneros AVA(pictured), located in both
Napa and
Sonoma counties, was the first
wine region in
California to be defined by its climate characteristics instead of political boundaries?
... that Kanthirava Narasaraja I was the first ruler in the
Kingdom of Mysore to create symbols associated with Mysore royalty, such as the coins (Kanthiraya) that he named after himself?
... that there are 115,200 solutions to the ménage problem of
permuting six couples at a twelve-person table so that men and women alternate and are seated away from their partners?
... that Charles Morgan, Jr. resigned from his
ACLU position after the group's head criticized Morgan for calling a
New Yorker a bigot for his refusal to consider voting for
Jimmy Carter as President?
... that following
TV3's axing of Night Shift the presenter, model Michelle Doherty, was said to have been left feeling "completely bewildered, and absolutely gutted"?
... that the Lipari Landfill in
New Jersey, where nearly 3 million gallons and 12 thousand tons of hazardous waste were dumped, was called the worst toxic dump in the United States?
... that out of 281
T-26tanks supplied to the
Popular Front(example pictured), the
Nationalists were able to capture 178 during the war, putting at least 50 into service against their former users?
... that Nigel Hamilton's biography of the young
John F. Kennedy, JFK: Reckless Youth, was turned into a television miniseries of the same name starring
Patrick Dempsey as JFK?
... that the Chennai Book Fair is an annual event in
Chennai,
India, which takes place between the last week of December and the third week of January?
... that
professional wrestlerSusan Green legally changed her name to Susan Tex Green to differentiate herself from another woman named Susan Green who was writing bad
checks?
... that B.Day, Bakery Music's tenth-anniversary and parting concert, was performed at
Rajamangala Stadium to an audience of 50,000 and was the largest concert ever held in
Thailand at the time?
... that Harry Endo had been filmed in a commercial for the bank in
Hawaii where he worked when he was asked to play the role of "Che Fong", an original cast member of the television series Hawaii Five-O?
... that Evelyn Lauder, who co-created and popularized the
pink ribbon as a symbol for
breast cancer awareness, helped create
Estée Lauder's Pink Ribbon lipstick and blusher as a breast cancer fundraiser?
... that from 1904 to 1927, passengers travelling by rail from
Stavanger to
Oslo,
Norway, needed to change to steam ship at Flekkefjord Station(pictured)?
... that the filming of Dexter was forced to move from
Miami to
Los Angeles, beginning with the episode "It's Alive!", because of the overlap between the show's production window and Miami's hurricane season?
... that a November 2008 appearance by a dance troupe called Satanic Sluts, featuring the granddaughter of actor
Andrew Sachs, on The Late Late Show led to a significant number of complaints?
... that Sir Norman Denning anticipated an
attack on Singapore by the Japanese as early as the mid-1930s, but his report was dismissed as him "over-exercising his imagination"?
06:50, 19 January 2009 (UTC)
... that the "monstrous" five-masted steel barque Potosi(pictured) was named after the
highest city in the world?
... that in 1966, Donald Gleason developed the
Gleason score, still used as the standard to measure the aggressiveness of
prostate cancer despite millions spent in attempts to displace it?
... that the
East African plant Commelina lukei has been informally recognised as a separate species since 1969, but was only formally described in 2008?
... that
Michigan's first athletic director Charles Baird(pictured) built the largest college athletic ground in the United States and negotiated the school's appearance in the first
Rose Bowl game?
... that on 22 October 2008, 15,000 members of the "grey army" descended on
Ireland's government buildings to protest the proposed abolition of their previously guaranteed free health treatment?
... that immature specimens of the lantern stinkhornfungus(pictured), with an odor of dog feces, sewage, or rotting flesh when mature, are considered an edible and medicinal delicacy in
China?
... that the 1871 election of Father Eduard Müller to the new
Reichstag was considered "an astonishing victory of a nobody" over an aristocratic landowner?
... that "I'll be a bridge over deep water if you trust in my name", from Claude Jeter's 1961 song "Mary Don't You Weep", was the inspiration for
Paul Simon's 1970 song "
Bridge over Troubled Water"?
... that Sin Chang-won, a
South Korean fugitive criminal famous for his close escapes, was first arrested at the age of 15 after being turned in by his father for stealing a
watermelon?
... that
Okinawan folk singer Rinshō Kadekaru was gravely wounded during
World War II, and reported dead, only to survive and enjoy a lengthy career, living until 1999?
... that, due to a government-imposed
curfew,
professional wrestlerMario Milano had to wrestle under a mask at the beginning of his career because he was underage and not allowed out after 9 o'clock?
... that the
NAACP forced the cancellation of some
wrestling events in
Mississippi to protest a tar-and-feather match featuring Melvin Nelson wrestling as "Burrhead Jones"?
... that the 2005 Operation Iron Hammer, aimed to clear
Al-Qaeda in Iraq from the Hai Al Becker region in western
Iraq, resulted in no reported casualties and no use of deadly force?
... that twin brothers Robert and Ross Hume became known as the "Dead Heat Kids" after finishing nine straight mile races, including the
Big Ten and
NCAA championships, holding hands in dead heat victories?
... that Scottish
footballerJim Baxter once taunted opponents in an international match by playing
keepie uppie during the game, and that he described his style as "treating the ball like a woman"?
... that the
Brazilian team at the
1958 World Cup had not assigned squad numbers in advance, and a 17-year old
Pelé was randomly assigned the number 10, which he wore for the rest of his career?
... that Benoît Sinzogan, described as "too timid to mount a coup" during the 1960s and 1970s, was "one of
Dahomey's few senior officers not to attempt to"?
... that the
hip hop magazine Rap-Up was founded by Devin Lazerine as a website when he was 15 years old?
... that having witnessed the effects of a market attack in the
2008–2009 Israel–Gaza conflict during a ban of international press, Norwegian doctor Mads Gilbert started a global
SMS campaign?
... that
Tang Dynasty official Pei Yanling was "so careless in his frivolousness and falsehood, as well as his jealousy of the talented and harmfulness to the good" that two centuries later it made historian Liu Xu weep?
... that the putrid stench of the "latticed stinkhorn"
fungusClathrus ruber(pictured) attracts insects to help disperse its
spores?
... that as early as 1968,
criminologistLloyd Ohlin noted that the routine incarceration of youthful offenders does "more to develop than to stop career criminals"?
... that music critic Herman Klein wrote in
New York City from 1901 to 1909 and advised
Columbia Records, but he acquired an unfavorable view of American musical life and returned to Britain?
... that the Lublin 1980 strikes marked the beginning of important socio-political changes in
Poland, such as the creation of
Solidarity and democratization of the country?
... that Gigantic, a film about a single man deciding to adopt a baby, was inspired by
writer–
director Matt Aselton's childhood wish for his parents to adopt a baby from
China?
... that Nick Scandone was named 2005 Rolex Yachtsman of the Year, the first
Paralympian to earn the honor, after winning the
2.4 meter world championship against 60 able-bodied and 27 disabled sailors?
... that sugar cream pie is being considered to become the official state pie of
Indiana, USA?
... that Paschal Eze resigned as editor-in-chief of The Daily Observer, a newspaper in
The Gambia, after being pressured by management not to publish stories about a certain politician?
... that the Bat Motor Manufacturing Co. Ltd was named after founder Samuel Robert Batson but was nicknamed "Best After Tests"?
... that William Murphy won two
Big Ten doubles tennis championships with his twin brother, and later coached
Michigan tennis teams to 11 Big Ten and one
NCAA team championships?
... that the "floating palaces" Bristol and Providence, built in 1867 by William H. Webb(pictured), contained 500 canaries in cages, each one personally named by shipowner
Jim Fisk?
... that while the Brooklyn Theatre burned in 1876, the actors urged calm in the face of rising panic, and though nearest to the flames, they were among the last to leave the theater alive?
... that Alexandra Penney, author of the best-selling book How to Make Love to a Man, has been credited as one of the creators and popularizers of the
pink ribbon(pictured) as a symbol for
breast cancer awareness?
... that Dave Porter won the
NCAA heavyweight collegiate wrestling championship twice and was subsequently drafted by the
Cleveland Browns to play in the
NFL?
... that the 17th-century
antiquarianJohan Hadorph performed Sweden's first archaeological excavation?
... that after becoming the first
basketball player to lead the
Big Ten in both scoring and rebounds,
Michigan's M.C. Burton turned down a contract to play in the
NBA to attend medical school?
... that
Morrissey was billed as the headliner of Saturday Night Fiber 2008, even though he was not the final act to play?
... that The Pittsburgh Courier crusaded against the blue discharge, calling it "a vicious instrument that should not be perpetrated against the American Soldier"?
... that when it was first described in the late 1600s, the
earthstarfungusGeastrum fornicatum(pictured) was named Fungus anthropomorphus for its resemblance to the human form?
... that the Hershey Creamery Company, founded in 1894 by five brothers from the Hershey family, has actually been owned and operated by the Holder family since the 1920s?
... that the Kappe Residence, described as "a virtual tree house poised over a steep hillside", was named one of the top ten houses in
Los Angeles by an expert panel selected by the Los Angeles Times?
... that during his
Victoria Cross-winning action, Percy Statton rushed four
machine gun posts before returning to his battalion lines where he was cheered by his fellow Australians?
... that the Sierra Highway was described in a promotional book to recruit teachers to
California as "a highway with a hundred by-ways, each by-way with a hundred wonders"?
... that
Nubian queen Amanitore(
relief pictured) ruled over so much building work that her reign is considered the most prosperous time in
Meroitic history?
... that
first-classcricketerBryan Lobb was such a poor judge of a run that he was once
run out by a fielder who overtook him as he strolled down the wicket?
... that the 1916 Early Modern Dodge House in
West Hollywood, California, called one of the fifteen most significant houses in the United States, was demolished in 1970 to make way for apartments?
... that
Tang Dynasty official Gao Ying, in his youth, offered to die in his father's stead when his father was captured by
rebelYan forces, causing Yan officers to release them both?
... that the FN-6, a third generation
ChineseMANPAD, was specifically designed to be used against targets flying at low and very low
altitudes?
... that
Paul Robeson's contract for the 1925
race filmBody and Soul included a US$100 per week salary plus three percent of the gross after the first US$40,000 in receipts?
... that the crime television series Heist detailed the 1974
Irish Republican Army's seizure of nineteen well-known paintings estimated to be worth £8 million at
Russborough House?
... that the last Silkmotorcycle ever built was a 500cc model based on a prototype that was never produced and was used as a competition prize?
... that Juan Davis Bradburn, commander of the
Mexican fort at
Anahuac, was described as "incompetent to such a command and ... half crazy part of his time"?
6 January 2009
23:50, 6 January 2009 (UTC)
... that in 1846, the
Austrian Empire encouraged a peasant revolt(pictured) to weaken local nobility in
Galicia who were planning a rebellion of their own?
... that Hal Fryar received a number of complaints from
English teachers because he appeared in a film with the grammatically incorrect title The Outlaws Is Coming?
... that abolitionist Charles Bennett Ray was the first black student enrolled at
Wesleyan University in 1832, only to have his enrollment subsequently revoked after complaints from white students?
... that the American M47 bomb had a steel cover just 1/32 of an inch thick, causing it to leak when it carried
sulfur mustard?
... that 12-year-old actress Caitlin Sanchez, selected to perform the voice of the title character in
Nickelodeon's Dora the Explorer, grew up as a fan of the show with a Dora-themed bedroom and backpack?
... that the characteristics of iminoglycinuria include the presence of
glycine and
imino acids in the urine, and aside from that it is considered to be a relatively
benign disorder?
... that the White-faced Heron's (pictured) techniques to find food include standing still and waiting for prey, walking slowly in water, wing flicking, foot raking or chasing prey with open wings?
... that the original screenplay for A Life of Her Own was deemed "shocking and highly offensive" for its portrayal of "adultery and commercialized prostitution" and rejected by the
Breen Office?
... that in the Battle of Sio,
Papuan Corporal Bengari and his five companions ambushed 29
Japanese soldiers and killed them all before they could fire a shot?
... that players in the video game I Love Katamari control a highly adhesive ball which is used to run over and collect objects of increasing size to make the ball bigger?
... that Alvah Chapman, Jr. helped orchestrate the 1974 merger of Knight Newspapers and Ridder Publications to form
Knight Ridder, the largest such transaction as of that time?
... that the Virginia Board of Censors found the 1927
race filmThe House Behind the Cedars "so objectionable, in fact, as to necessitate its total rejection"?
... that "The Flying Parson" Gil Dodds, record holder in the mile run in the 1940s, suffered a
hernia in high school and ran with a
truss to protect himself?
... that, while serving as
chancellor,
Tang Dynasty official Cui Sun was responsible for rebuilding or repairing the funereal palaces at eight imperial tombs, one of which was
Qianling(pictured)?
... that Time magazine predicted "Big Bill" Watson, the first African-American to win the U.S. decathlon championship, would be America's No. 1 hero at the
1940 Olympics, later cancelled due to
World War II?
... that, after returning to his native
England,
New YorkcomposerManuel Klein suffered a trauma during the
Zeppelin attacks in London during
WWI that reportedly contributed to his early death?
... that the al-Muallaq Mosque, also known as the Mosque of Dhaher al-Omar in
Acre,
Israel, is located on the site of the town's ancient
synagogue?
... that the
Tang Dynasty official Zheng Yuqing restored the use of drums in palace music, after drums had been abolished in light of rebellions to avoid alarming the populace?
... that the stems of Asclepias cordifolia(pictured), or Heart-leaf
milkweed, were made into rope and string by the
Miwok and used for skirts and capes?
... that
kibbutzRe'im has started a project to become the first community in
Israel with its domestic power consumption provided entirely by
solar energy?
... that
Dave Fanning described 2TV as "not rocket science, it's moron television"?
... that the
monastery of Champmol was founded in 1383 as the dynastic burial-place of the
ValoisDukes of Burgundy, but only ever contained two monumental tombs?
... that
Peter Benchley wanted to write about pirates, but editor Thomas Congdon preferred his idea for a
novel about sharks that became the bestseller Jaws?
... that Iolani Luahine, considered the high priestess of the ancient
hula, was said to be able to "call up the wind and the rain" and to "make animals do her bidding"?